Hoosier guide to voting.

Last week I had the chance to visit Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis to register young voters. This experience reminded me of the importance of knowing the voting process and how to register.

Here are ten things you should know about voting in Indiana:

Indiana voter eligibility: be a US citizen, live at an Indiana address by October 9th, and be 18 years old by Election Day, November 8th.

When registering to vote, you should use the federal form rather than the state form. The federal form is more concise than the Indiana form. The Indiana form requires a receipt that can be complicated.

If you are unsure of your voter registration status you can check here.This site will also tell you your polling place. https://indianavoters.in.gov

Indiana voter registration deadline is October 11ththirty days before election day.

Early voting begins October 12th.

If you do not have a state issued ID available when registering to vote, you can use the last four digits of your social security number.

You do not need your voter ID card to vote, just a state issued photo ID.

If you attend a public university and your student ID includes an expiration date you can use it to vote (IU Bloomington).

On November 8th, Indiana polls open at 6 AM and close at 6 PM.

Finally, just leave your cell phone in the car while voting. This Huffington post article states, “Taking a photo of a ballot and showing it to someone else — including on social media — is a level 6 felony in the state of Indiana”.

Rachel Santos
Graduate Assistant
Candidate for M.P.A. 2018, School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis